Billy Hart: Welcoming New, Loving Old, Sounds

“
We're still trying to get in touch with that same emotion that everybody refers to as swinging or grooving or funky or whatever. It's just that now we have so much more of a vocabulary to choose from.
Billy Hart ”

The ubiquitous drummer Billy Hart brings a special energy to the many projects of which he is a part. A band leader, composer and educator, he's been on hundreds of albums. He has taken the stage with countless bands, adding his rhythmic pulse to formations led by a litany of the biggest names in the business.

And at each concert, when Hart is being introduced by whomever the leaderChristian McBride

, the Cookersthey always do so beaming with pleasure. It never fails. It's always done with a sense of genuine warmth. They know Hart has their back. He brings a quality to the music that's appreciated, whatever the situation.

"One of things would be my enthusiasm for their music," says Hart. "We're talking about some of the most creative minds that we have in this music today. It's not hard to be enthusiastic about it. And it's a worthy challenge. It gives you something positive to look forward to. Working toward a goal. My gratitude for that is my enthusiasm for their music."

"I work at it," he adds. "It isn't just that I do it. I enjoy it so much, that I work at it. I study the music. I study the people. I enjoy the work and enjoy the people. I think they see that enjoyment in me."

That has resulted in a long and busy career for the Washington, D.C. native, that includes associations with musicians like Jimmy Smith

and many more. Sideman gigs still keep him busy, as does teaching, but he also leads a noteworthy band that recently released a new album, One Is the Other (ECM). The band is comprised of saxophonist Mark Turner

. It's a lush, free-flowing collection of songs from a group formed to comply with Hart's quest for pushing music forward, using a variety of influences from music he has listened to from all over the globe.

"We have been together for a while. I think it's a situation where I offer a certain amount of experience to them in exchange for the youthful, new innovations that they bring to the table," says the drummer. "That's a healthy combination from my viewpoint. It gives me more energy and gives the whole situation more depth. As far as being free form, it's not as free as it would seem. The intent is still the same as it was with Louis Armstrong

. The intent is to get in touch with that emotion. People give different names to it, because there are a lot of people who don't think of this music as classical music. So they've never given it any kind of name or nomenclature. We're still trying to get in touch with that same emotion that everybody refers to as swinging or grooving or funky or whatever. It's just that now we have so much more of a vocabulary to choose from.

Jazz music, to Hart, is inclusive of new ideas, expansive rhythms, other forms and other genres. The world is a smaller place now and that's applicable to the music and sounds embedded in it.

"In other words, as great as all the older masters are, in terms of commercial contact with the audience ... I don't think of Count Basie

or Earl 'Fatha' Hines as incorporating a lot of Indian rhythms. But today, you have to. We're talking about a vocabulary that defines a whole culture, so it's a whole new study of these different cultures. The world is getting smaller, and we're becoming more and moreat least through the musicone people. When you add the improvisation factor, as opposed to cutting things down for commercial purpose, then you have a lot to choose from. What it becomes is: How good are you at making choices in a compositional way?"

The eight songs on the new disk are all originals except one ("Some Enchanted Evening"), penned by Hart, Iverson and Turner (not on tandem). They have a certain open feel, with each member of the group adding their voice. It's never rushed; rather the songs unfold and their stories are told at an easy pace.